RELIGIONS AND VALUES AMONG MALAYSIAN CITIZENS (ACROSS ETHNICS)

Unlike other countries where there may be only one ethnic group, Malaysia is an incredibly diverse country, containing many different ethnicities, languages and religions. Among the three main ethnic groups (Malays, Chinese and Indians) there exist several religions and values.

Religious Freedom in Malaysia:

•          Since the freedom of choosing religion in Malaysia is a reality, each one of three ethnic groups have their own belief.
•          Since the freedom of choosing religion in Malaysia is a reality, each one of three ethnic groups have their own belief. 
•           Freedom of choosing religion is possible by Malaysian law as mentioned in Article 3 (1) of the Malaysian Constitution provide "Islam is the religion of  \ the Federation; BUT other religions can be practiced safely and peacefully in all parts of the Federation”.

Description of Population by Religion: 

According to department of statistic Malaysia (DoSM)…

•Islam was the most widely professed religion in Malaysia with the proportion of 61.3 per cent.

•As a multiracial nation, other religions embraced were Buddhism (19.8%), Christianity (9.2%) and Hinduism (6.3%).

ISLAM IN MALAYSIA:

               Islam was introduced by traders arriving from Arabia, China and the Indian subcontinent. It became firmly established in the 15th century. The king is generally seen as the defender of the faith in the country. Various Islamic holidays such as Muhammad's peace be upon him birthday have been declared national holidays.  As of 2013, there were approximately 19.5 million Muslim adherents, or 61.3% of the population. Currently, Islam is the state religion, specifically Shafi'ite school Sunnism. The Sunni Islam of the Shafi'i school of thought is the official, legal form in Malaysia. Mosques are an ordinary scene throughout the country and adhan (call to prayer) from minarets are heard five times a day.  Government bodies and banking institutions are closed for two hours every Friday so Muslim workers can conduct Friday prayer in mosques.

             However, in certain states such as Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Johor, the weekends fall on Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday. It has been introduced to several states, notably Kelantan and Terengganu, all businesses closed for 2 hours on every Friday for prayers. Failure to comply would result in fines. Since it is compulsory for Muslims to perform  prayers 5 times a day no matter where they are, almost all public places, including shopping malls, hotels, condominiums, usually have allocated spaces called "Surau", for performing the Muslim prayers.As Hadji Ibrahim promoted the propagation of Islam among Chinese, a general increase of Chinese Muslims in most states of west Malaysia. There are about 0.7% percent of Chinese community are Muslim. The Malacca Chinese Mosque is a Chinese-style mosque in Malacca.

BUDDHISM IN MALAYSIA:

                Buddhism is the second largest religion in Malaysia, after Islam, with 19.2% of Malaysia's population being Buddhist.  Buddhism was introduced by the Indians to the Malay Archipelago. Chinese written sources indicated that some 30 small Indianized states rose and fell in the Malay Peninsula. Buddhism in Malaysia is practiced in several languages including English Language, Bahasa Malaysia, Indian, Mandarin and Thai, among others. Most of them practices the Mahayana Buddhism which is predominantly Chinese. Others practices the Theravada Buddhism which is common among Thais and Sri Lanka.

             Buddhism in Malaysia in particular does not have a development chart headed by a single organization. As such, coordination can sometimes be quite challenging. In recent years, there has been a formation of the Malaysian Buddhist Council which aims to align all the different types and sects of Buddhism so that they speak the same language and practices.

CHRISTIANITY IN MALAYSIA:

        Christianity in Malaysia is a minority religion practiced by 9.2% of the population, two-thirds of the 2.617 million Christians live in East Malaysia in Sabah and Sarawak where they are together 30% of the population. Traders with links to Christianity from the Middle East arrived in what is now Malaysia in the 7th century.  Catholicism was brought by the Portuguese in the15th century, followed by Protestantism with the Dutch in 1641.  Christianity spread further through missionaries who arrived during British rule in the 19th century and introduced Christianity to East Malaysia. The second largest group of Chinese are Christian (Protestants and Catholics).  The majority of Chinese Malaysians who are living in East Malaysia practice Christianity. Most of them can be found in major towns such as Kuching, Sibu and Kota Kinabalu. About 10% of the population of Malaysia are Christians,.Mostly non-Malay Bumiputera, also including some Malaysian Chinese and Malaysian Indian minorities. The most common denominations are Anglican, Methodist, and Roman Catholic.

HINDUISM IN MALAYSIA:

             Most Malaysian Hindus are settled in western parts of Peninsular Malaysia. The Malaysian state with highest percentage of Hindus, according to 2010 Census, is Negeri Sembilan (13.4%), followed by Selangor (11.6%), Perak (10.9%) and Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (8.5%).  Some of the major Hindu festivals celebrated every year include: Deepavali (festival of lights), Thaipusam (Lord Murugan festival), Pongal (harvest festival) and Navaratri (Durga festival).

VALUES IN MALAYSIA: 

     Malaysia is an incredibly diverse country, containing many different ethnicities, languages and religions.  People from each ethnicity have generally retained their ancestors’ cultural customs. Malaysia is an incredibly diverse country, containing many different ethnicities, languages and religions. As a result, Malaysian society accommodates a rich variety of lifestyles, beliefs and values. As Malaysia is a multicultural society,  Malaysians are very attentive in general towards how they respectfully interact with people from different backgrounds. Malaysia is far more collectivistic than Western societies and individuals perceive themselves to be members of groups (i.e. their family, business or ethnicity). These groups reflect or come to define who their members are and often demand a high degree of loyalty. 

      Malaysians generally exhibit a strong acceptance of social hierarchies. 

Malaysian tend to feel comfortable when they are able to distinguish another person’s status relative to them. It enables them to adjust their behavior accordingly to show the appropriate amount of respect.

     Greetings are very important in Malaysia and are thought to indicate your respect.   In Malaysia when greeting a group of people, the oldest person should be greeted first addressing individuals according to their appropriate titles (i.e. Mr, Mrs, Doctor). The common Malay or Muslim community verbal greeting is “Salaam. The common greeting across all ethnicities in Malaysia is a handshake. However, physical contact between men and women is not permitted in all circumstances.People may put one hand over their chest and give a slight nod to greet those they perceive are unaccustomed to being touched.  Malaysian male do shake hand using their both hands while meeting in ceremony and before leaving they repeat that. People give little bow in when they greet a female, they do the same when they meet with older person.

       Most name choices are reflective of a Malaysian’s ethnicity and indicate whether a person is Malay, Indian or ChineseMalaysian. A Malay’s name is usually structured as their first name followed by a patronym (bin/binte/binti) followed by their father’s first name. A title of ‘Haji’ or ‘Hajjah’ indicates the person has made their pilgrimage to Mecca.In Chinese names, the surname comes before one or two given names (e.g. WANG Zhifu Ping).   The surname is usually one syllable, and the given names may contain one or two syllables each. Many Indian names do not include a surname. The initial of the father’s name is placed before their first name.

     Right hand is used for eating and passing things to others. Don’t use your left hand for these. Don’t move object with your feet. It’s unethical. Non-Malay should avoid to use single finger to call someone. In Malaysia hosts may specify a time for a visit, they do not always expect guests to arrive at the designated time.  Shoes should be removed before entering a person’s home. Offering a small gift for the hostess, such as fruits, sweets or crafts, will be greatly appreciated. These gestures are known as 'buah tangan' – “fruit of the hands”.

      Since it is common for food to be cut in bite-size pieces, knives are rarely used when eating. People often eat with their hands. The right hand should be used to pass food to the mouth and offer it to others. For Chinese-Malaysians, Common eating utensils are spoons and forks, or chopsticks. leaving. Saya Terima Kasih! (thank You) ( Source: group presentation-3, semester-2 2018/2019)

Courtesy to: Dr. Mohamed Ayyub B. Hasan, Faculty, School of Human Resource Development & Psychology,  Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)